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Happy Birthday Buckets

The holiday season has arrived and as children are eagerly waiting for holiday gifts, four Globetrotters – Dizzy, Buckets, Flip and TNT — will not only be awaiting a holiday present, but a birthday gift as well.

One of nine brothers and sisters, Buckets was first introduced to basketball when he watched Phoenix Suns at the age of 5. Shortly after, he began practicing the sport by making his own hoop by cutting a hole in the top of his dad’s hat, flipping upside down and shooting a tennis ball through it. All that practice paid off, and he became an outstanding basketball player in high school, also lettering in track and football. He took his basketball talents to Arizona Western College and then to the University of Wyoming, where he was team captain and MVP his junior and senior seasons. He led the team in rebounding, assists and steals as a junior, and he was one of only two Mountain West Conference players to finish in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding and assists as a senior. Despite his busy travel schedule with the Globetrotters, Buckets made the Dean’s List three times while completing online courses to earn his bachelor’s degree in psychology in January 2012. The 6-foot-2 guard is an avid watch collector, and the ritual he does like clockwork every night to help him sleep is eating a bowl of cereal before going to bed. Because Buckets enjoys working with and mentoring kids, he cherishes the opportunities he has had to be an “Ambassador of Goodwill”™ for the Globetrotters the past 11 seasons. In the future, he envisions himself owning his own gym and helping kids build character and self esteem through sports mentoring.

Also born on Dec. 6: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M quarterback who was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy), Craig Newmark (founder of the Website Craigslist), Judd Apatow (film producer, director and screenwriter)